Can free-range farmers raise pigs in the future? What should we do if raising pigs becomes increasingly difficult?

Pork is a topic of great concern to the people now, because the price of pork this year is ridiculously high, which makes some low-income families discouraged. Now bad news comes one after another, making it difficult for people to eat pork, and raising pigs is becoming more and more difficult. What happened in recent times will make raising pigs more and more difficult. So, can free-range farmers raise pigs in the future? Let's take a look!

Can free-range farmers raise pigs in the future?

Let's first clarify what scale is considered a free-range household. Individuals who raise 20 to 50 sows in a self-breeding and self-feeding mode are considered free-range households, those with less than 20 sows are considered farm-raised households, and those with more than 50 sows are considered small-scale pig farms.

First of all, there is an absolute necessity and advantage for farm breeding. Pig breeding may be a sideline, or it may be mainly pig breeding with farming as a supplement. It can provide employment for one or two people and provide a minimum guarantee for a family. The results of breeding may not be the best, but the cost is very low. The efficiency may not be the highest, but the benefits are very good.

A free-range household with 20 to 50 sows can be the entire source of income for a family. There are two absolute advantages.

1. Low investment. Family farming can achieve the greatest benefits with the least investment. Maybe the pig farm construction is not very advanced, and the breeding equipment may be a bit outdated, but if you use your own diligence to make up for the shortcomings of hardware facilities, the results may not be bad.

2. Sense of responsibility. To put it bluntly, all work in the pig farming process is conscientious work. Whether the pig farming is well managed depends largely on the sense of responsibility of the breeder. The free-range farmers are both breeders and bosses, and their sense of responsibility for the pigs is not comparable to that of the breeders in the pig farm. This sense of responsibility for managing pigs will ultimately be reflected in the breeding benefits.

The most uncomfortable thing for me is that the scale of more than 50 pigs has not formed a large-scale breeding farm. There are many problems such as difficulty in recruiting workers, slow management pace, inadequate pig farm management, difficulty in financing during difficult periods, etc.

Personally, I feel that the most capable and lowest-cost pig farmers are those who raise pigs in the free-range range of 20 to 50 households.

What should I do if raising pigs becomes increasingly difficult?

1. If large-scale pig enterprises expand, they must have enough funds. They should strive for more state-supported enterprise funds and interest-free loans, bank loans, and personal fundraising to raise funds.

2. Feed costs can be reduced by making your own feed, which can save 40% of the cost. When preparing sows to breed the next generation, breeding by yourself will also save a lot of money.

3. Strict prevention and control should be implemented in epidemic prevention and quarantine. Sanitation and disinfection should be done well. Select employees who are experienced, responsible, and willing to work hard.

4. All the above problems can be perfectly interpreted. From the end of this year to the spring of next year, the pig farming industry will still usher in good news. The pig price will be stable and will not return to the normal price all at once. The profit margin of pig farming will still have a good return.

Bad news about pig farming

One of the bad news is that African swine fever has not been controlled, but has spread further. Since September, there have been no new cases of African swine fever in the area, which was good news. However, on September 10, African swine fever was found in a pig farm in a small town in Ningxia, and all 13 pigs that were infected have died. This is the second time that African swine fever has been found in Ningxia this year. For pig farmers, the price drop of pork is not the most terrible thing. The most terrible thing is that all pigs died overnight after being infected with African swine fever. This is bad news for both farmers and consumers.

The second piece of bad news is that although there has been a breakthrough in the development of the African swine fever vaccine, it will take a long time before it can be truly applied. On September 10, the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences announced that the African swine fever vaccine developed by the Harbin Veterinary Research Institute will enter the clinical trial stage. We laymen don’t know what clinical trials are, and we always think that since the trials have begun, it should be immediately available for use. This is a big mistake. It will take at least three to two years for the vaccine to enter clinical trials and be put on the market. Do you think this is good news or bad news?

The third piece of bad news is that the amount of pork imported from abroad will further increase, which will encourage the further expansion of domestic pig farming. This is both good news and bad news. For us consumers, this will be more conducive to the decline in pork prices, which is of course good news, but for pig farmers, their competition will further increase, and it will become bad news that pig farming is becoming more and more difficult.

However, we must believe that the future of pig farming is still bright. We are a big pork consumer country, and there are so many people waiting to eat pork. Are you still worried that pork cannot be sold? Persistence is victory, and overcoming difficulties will lead to a smooth road.